A Pakistani man facing deportation from the United States due to drug charges had a federal appeals court rule in his favor.

“Rafiq, a Catholic, makes the unusual claim that the tattoos he has on his forearms violate Islamic law and could make him identifiable to extremists as someone who has converted from Islam. Rafiq feared being beheaded upon his return, according to the brief Rafiq submitted on appeal.”

Via NY Sun

“State Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow, thinks legal tattooing will hurt the state’s economy because employers are less likely to hire a job applicant who’s tattooed. ‘Our society as a whole still does not view tattoos in a favorable light,’ he said. ‘Many CEOs do not wish to have people working on their front lines who are overtly calling attention to themselves.’”

Good, he shouldn’t have to worry about Oklahomans leaving the state to get a job on say, Wall Street.

Via AP

>“‘Most people who don’t have counsel don’t realize what their rights are. They’re afraid to impose restrictions. You can be very stringent,’ Herculian said. If a dress code is put into writing and doesn’t discriminate between the sexes, it can be enforced legally, as long as employers are open to negotiating compromises for health or religious reasons.” Via AP

“Under the proposed guidelines, licenses would cost 250 dollars for an artist and one-thousand dollars for an establishment. Tattoo parlors also would be required to obtain a 100-thousand-dollar surety bond.”

From KTen

“If you want an appointment with Vancouver’s Steve Moore, you’ll have to wait until at least 2008. ‘Initially when I started people weren’t getting big tattoos, so you could get a lot more done, you got more people through the door,’ says Moore. ‘Now tattoos are whole arms, big pieces. You dedicate like 20 or 30 hours to a piece so you really can’t tattoo as many people in a year.’”

From Canada.com

Finally, another free tattoo design has been added to Top Tattoo Designs. This one is a unique take on the classic Japanese koi fish design by artist Jinx. This free design includes both the outline and final colored design in high resolution. It is free and usable if you wish to use it as a tattoo.

From Shanghai: “A Chinese man has been sentenced to death for scratching insults across the bodies of three women with a needle dipped in ink.” The court gave him a two year reprieve. If his behavior is good he will get life imprisonment instead.

China has the death penalty for over 60 offenses, half of them being non-violent.

From the AP - “Forty-four tattoo customers in Ohio, Kentucky and Vermont developed skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention… MRSA generally causes mild skin infections, but in some cases has led to pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and a painful, flesh-destroying condition called necrotizing fasciitis.”

This is a very good reason why you should not have your friend do your tattoo. Go to a liscenced tattoo shop were the artists follow proper procedures.

From the AP - “About one in seven people surveyed reported having a piercing anywhere other than in the soft lobe of the ear, according to the study. That total rises to nearly one in three for the 18-to-29 set. Just about half - 48 percent - in that age category had either a tattoo or piercing.”

Is this just the crest of a trend, or is mass-popularity of tattoos here to stay?

From the Times Leader: “Tattoos cover more than half of his body and include an angel killing a demon and Jesus on the cross. He considers part of his work to be spreading the message that tattoos don’t harm a person’s faith but offer a way to present a gospel message.”

The article goes on to say that Steve is the president of the Christian Tattoo Association which has 850 members from around the world.